ABUJA – Members of the House of Representatives at Tuesday plenary adopted a motion preferring the establishment of ranches for fulani herdsmen to the proposed cattle colonies. To realize the objective, the members urged the Federal government to work out modalities of the establishment with States interested in ranches. The members also urged the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to liaise with State Ministries of Agriculture to speedily educate and encourage the herdsmen on the benefits of ranching while mandating its Committee on Agriculture Production and Services to its ensure implementation.


http://regulusnews.com/2018/02/20/breaking-herdsmen-now-ready-for-ranching/

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday worshipped with ex-President Goodluck Jonathan at the St. Stephen Anglican Church, Otuoke Diocese, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

The church service, which was carnival like, had in attendance Governor Seriake Dickson; his deputy, Rear Admiral John Jonah (retd.); Jonathan’s wife, Patience; a former Military Governor of old Rivers State, King Alfred Diete-Spiff and other personalities.



http://regulusnews.com/2018/02/19/obasanjo-finally-reconciles-with-jonathan/

An Osun Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ile-Ife on Friday remanded a traditional ruler, Oba Adeoye Adefarakan, 63, and one Abidemi Olukanmi, 18, for allegedly spreading rumour against the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi.

The Prosecutor, Inspector Christian Olajide, told the court that the accused committed the offence sometime in November, 2017 at Ile-Ife.

Olajide said the accused conspired between themselves to commit felony, to wit, “publication of false news that caused fear and alarm and deformation of character.”


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He said the accused also chanted and sang songs causing hatred, ridicule, spreading rumour and negative report against the Ife monarch.

According to the prosecutor, the actions of the accused affected the reputation of Ogunwusi and exposed him to ridicule.

Olajide said the song caused fear and alarm for members of the public and breached public peace in Ife Kingdom

He said the offence contravened sections 59, 374, 375 and 516 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Osun State, 2002.

The Defence Counsel, Mr. Edward Birilomoni, applied for bail for the accused, pledging that his clients would not jump bail and that they would produce reliable sureties.

However, the magistrate, Mrs. Adejumoke Ademola-Olowolagba, refused the accused bail but advised the counsel to come with written application for the consideration of bail.

Ademola-Olowolagba ordered the remand of the accused in prison custody, pending the consideration of their bail.

She adjourned the case until February 23 for hearing. (NAN)

Maj.-Gen. Bamidede Ashafa, the National Coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, has said that the programme has concluded the deradicalisation of the first batch of 95 surrendered Boko Haram combatants.

Ashafa made the development known in Yola on Thursday when he briefed Gov. Mohammed Bindow of Adamawa on the programme. He said the programme, a multi-agency committee inaugurated in 2015 by the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt.-Gen. Gabriel Olanishakin, had captured the profiles of the combatants.


http://regulusnews.com/2018/02/15/repentant-boko-haram-members-are-set-for-new-life-in-town-dhq/

The sport continues on Saturday with medals coming in five events: Biathlon, cross-country skiing, short track speed skating, ski jumping and speed skating.

There will also be action in snowboarding, curling, ice hockey and luge.



http://regulusnews.com/2018/02/09/photos-olympics-opening-ceremony/

By Ikechukwu

The day 3 of events started with Morocco vs South africa junior 72kg, then followed by Tunisha vs Algeria.

Also South Africa vs Egypt followed which is a quarter finals match. Each of the match to last 6 mins each


http://regulusnews.com/2018/02/09/photos-african-wrestling-championship-port-harcourt-2018/

(CNN)The federal government shut down for the second time in less than a month overnight as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul prevented a two-year budget deal from passing Thursday.

Though a massive budget deal and government funding package still was expected to pass by morning, congressional negotiators were scrambling all day.

http://regulusnews.com/2018/02/09/us-government-shut-down-after-senate-failed-to-pass-budget/

The World Bank warned and compared cryptocurrencies to “Ponzi schemes”.

The warning is the the latest financial voice to raise questions about the legitimacy of digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

“In terms of using Bitcoin or some of the cryptocurrencies, we are also looking at it, but I’m told the vast majority of cryptocurrencies are basically Ponzi schemes,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said Wednesday at an event in Washington.


http://regulusnews.com/2018/02/08/cryptocurrencies-is-like-ponzi-schemes-world-bank/

Benue Police Command has confirmed that two people have been killed in the state by suspected herdsmen since the Anti -Open Grazing Law came into force on November 1.

The state command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Moses Yamu, who spoke exclusively with Daily Sun, in Makurdi, yesterday, disclosed that one person, Ortse Kwaghdoo was killed in Azdege village, in Logo Local Government Area of the state while another person, Apesuu Uhula, was killed in Isho Village, Guma Local Government Area.

Yamu said suspected herdsmen arrested in connection with the killing in Guma include Ibrahim Muhammadu, Abubakar Ahmadu, Ibrahim Fulani and Adamu Bature while another Fulani, Gambo Mohammed, was earlier arrested with a locally-made pistol in Logo.

http://regulusnews.com/2017/11/15/grazing-law-2-killed-in-benue/

By Sunday Silver E.

Tuface Idibia, popularly known as Tubaba took to social media to celebrate his wife’s birthday. Tubaba wrote” Yes ooo!! Its my big baby’s birthday so i can’t keep calm ooo. May U live long and fulfilling life my love. The Lord shall be your strength throughout this journey of life.(plus me o) i wish u all the best baby. Words can’t express everything i wish 2 say 2 u on this special day. @annieidibia1 HBD

http://regulusnewsonline.com/2017/11/14/1926/

FORMER President Goodluck Jonathan declared, on Saturday, that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) government had delivered more corruption than the promised change.
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Jonathan, in a statement which was a reaction to an interview granted by the APC spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, over his assertion that the troubled Abdulrasheed Maina, is a legacy of the Jonathan government, said the APC was engaged in revisionism.
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The statement, signed on behalf of Jonathan’s media team by his special Assistant, New Media, Reno Omokri, said: “This is historical revisionism of the highest order and is a major feature of the dishonest character trait that the APC has become known for.”
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Jonathan said Maina was recruited into the civil service long before the PDP administration came into office.
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He also stated that when his alleged infractions were uncovered, the Jonathan administration dismissed him from the civil service and declared him wanted.
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Narrating the events that had played out since Maina’s reinstatement, he stated that the APC administration should be embarrassed by its one day, one scandal government in the last two years.
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http://regulusnews.com/2017/11/13/apc-govt-has-delivered-more-corruption-than-change-jonathan/

The Borno state house of assembly has suspended all its activities following the attack on a lawmaker by Senator Ali Ndume.

Ndume was said to have slapped Hon. Habu Dala Aji, a member representing Damboa, while he was trying to settle a dispute between Ndume and electorates while another legislator was beaten to the point of almost dying. This was the statement from the Borno House of Assembly obtained by Regulus on the matter;

Pending the outcome of a resolution passed in respect on an attack on its members, the speaker of the house Abdkareem Lawal in a press statement issued to pressmen in Maiduguri that a member representing Damboa, Hon. Habu Dala aji was slapped by Senator Ali Ndume in his residence when he was trying to settle a misunderstanding between his electorates from Damboa. In the same vein, some hoodlums attacked and beat up honourable member Mohammed Saleh Baga into a state of coma and was hospitalised for 3 months.

By Sunday Silver


Delta State (Regulus)- Commissioner for Finance, Olorogun David Edevbie has debunked claims that political appointees are more than civil servants in the state.

In a press briefing for the break-down of the 2018 budget proposal which was recently sent to the Delta State House of Assembly by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, Olorogun Edevbie said the Delta State Government has 2, 203 political appointees with the sum of N382 million as salary while the state has 45, 000 civil servants that gulps N4.5 billion monthly as salary.

http://regulusnews.com/2017/10/25/we-have-2203-political-appointees-in-delta-edevbie/

Living Faith Church also known as Winners Chapel celebrated God for saving the life of Bishop Oyedepo, the founder and president whom God delivered from plane crash recently.

The Winners chapel Ikorodu branch, Lagos state, were not left out in the praise jamboree as they participated in the praise service. This was how they celebrated God for their Bishop whom they often called papa. They had this to say;

“Praise the Lord. Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the people of Zion be glad in their King. Let them praise His name with dancing and make music to Him with tambourine and harp…” Psalm 149:1-3.
This perfectly describes the prevailing atmosphere at the Living Faith Church, Ikorodu (a.k.a Winners’ Chapel, Ikorodu), on Friday, 20th of October, 2017.

The Winners’ Chapel, Ikorodu joined other Winners’ Chapel stations all over the Nation, to observe a special Praise and Thanksgiving service, to offer high praises to God for the mighty deliverance He wrought in the life of our Father in the Lord, Bishop David Oyedepo, His wife, and other members of his team as their were airborne on an international flight to Israel.

Bishop David Oyedepo and his team, experienced what has been aptly called, ‘GREAT ESCAPE’ when God averted a potential air-crash and ensured safe landing of the plane they were traveling in.

Miraculously, everyone in the aircraft were unhurt. This is a confirmation of the Word of God in Isaiah 59:19-20, “When the enemy comes like a flood, the Spirit of God will lift up a standard against Him.”

Giving account of the incident, Bishop David Oyedepo was quoted as saying, “There was a mid-air crisis; there was a serious turbulence, but there was no apprehension. We were on the Mediterranean sea when it happened, but the One who divided the Red sea is still dividing seas. Jesus took control, landed the plane safely. And, we were just celebrating the faithfulness of God.”

Captain Samuel Adegboyega, the pilot of the recent escape reported this:
“The main malfunction we had on the Cyprus-Israel flight was a Stabilizer Trim Motor Failure. During the said flight, after the trim motor failure, the autopilot could no longer exert the required pressure to keep the aircraft in the required attitude for stable flight. I disconnected the autopilot, took and returned the aircraft to the required attitude for that phase of flight. Because the aircraft was “out of trim” during this take over, the aircraft abruptly pitched up with much G-force and I counteracted it with a pitch down force. These two counter forces caused the “abrupt turbulent” movement in the cabin and the cargo hold. Heavy items in the cargo hold fell from their compartments and made the loud bang noise we heard.”

It is on record, that this is not the first time the enemy will try to crash the prophet’s aircraft. In 1997, as the servant of God and his team were on a journey from Kaduna to Lagos, the aircraft they travelled in, refused to Land. After several fruitless efforts by the pilot to successfully land the aircraft, God stepped in, and the plane was eventually landed.

In 1998, on a journey from Lagos to Kano, the evil one made a deadly attempt again. As they progressed on the journey mid-air, one of the engines of the aircraft packed up. When this scary thing happened, the servant of God – Bishop David Oyedepo, by divine leading, directed the pilot to turn and return to Lagos. As soon as they landed in Lagos, everyone in the aircraft had a loud noise from the engine signalling that the only functional engine has packed up too. What a great deliverance!

We thank the God of this commission for making the pilots to react promptly. Similar failures in the past have resulted in fatal accidents that resulted in loss of lives due to lateness of pilots’ reaction. From the report on the flight
What a mighty God we serve! For the Winners’ Family all over the world, the current incident has served as a Faith booster, because the Lord, once again, displayed His avowed commitment to protect His covenant children, from every form of molestation by the wicked one and his cohorts, as stipulated in Psalm 105:15, “Touch not my anointed, do my prophets no harm. Our God is indeed a Faithful God.

http://regulusnews.com/2017/10/23/gods-general-bishop-david-oyedepo-and-the-great-escape/

The Presidency has said sureties for leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu risk imprisonment if he fails to appear in court on adjourned date.

Following a ruling by the Federal High Court in Abuja granting Kanu bail on April 25, Senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Enyinnaya Abaribe, signed the bond for release of the IPOB leader.


With his next court hearing coming up in October, the IPOB leader has not been heard from or seen after a combined team of security operatives invaded his house in Umuahia, the Abia State capital on September 14.


http://regulusnews.com/2017/09/25/biafra-what-will-happen-to-senator-abaribe-others-if-nnamdi-kanu-fails-to-appear-in-court-presidency/

The threat by the Senate to order the arrest of the managing directors of 33 companies for failing to appear before a Senate investigative panel seems to be yielding results as 11 of the organisation have made an appearance before it.

The Senate Joint Committee on Customs, Excise, Tariff and Marine Transport is investigating the loss of nearly N30 trillion of government revenue in the maritime sector.

The companies have been accused of complicity in the loss of the huge amount in the import and export value chain in the country.




http://regulusnews.com/2017/08/10/n30tn-revenue-probe-11-companies-appear-before-senate-panel/

A former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Kalu, has condemned, in strong terms, a provocative song against Ndigbo trending online and offline.

According to the front-line politician, Nigeria’s ethnic, religious, cultural and political diversity should be seen as an advantage and not a minus and as such hate speeches should be discouraged at all levels.

He lambasted the sponsors of the hate song , adding that Nigeria has come to stay as a heterogeneous nation and no amount of hate campaign can break the country.

Kalu made these remarks, on Tuesday, at a meeting with a group of Igbo professionals in London.

The former governor who expressed optimism at the level of condemnation of the song from different quarters, added that the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable .

The EFCC snoopers have begun interrogating the man to find out how he came about the cards and the reason he was taking them out of the country.
Abdullahi was arrested at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport on Friday August 3, as he prepared to board an Egypt Air flight heading for Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
He was intercepted after a scan of his luggage by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service revealed the suspicious items.
The officers then alerted the EFCC’s office in Kano. Operatives of the Commission discovered that the suspect had 490 Guaranty Trust Bank ATM cards, 287 of Access Bank, 49 of Eco Bank, 10 of UBA, six of Stanbic IBTC Bank.
He also had on him 4 ATM cards of Zenith Bank, and one each of Sterling Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and First City Monument Bank.
The EFCC did not state whether all the cards were issued in the suspect’s name.

Another suspected fraudster, Ma Yongbin alias Suleiman Yunusa, a 46-year- old Chinese National was also arrested on August 3 by Aviation Security at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport as he tried to board Egypt Air to China.




http://regulusnews.com/2017/08/07/efcc-arrests-dubai-bound-nigerian-with-849-atm-cards/

Arsenal fans yesterday, took to their twitter handles to celebrate Super Eagles and Arsenal star, Alex Iwobi’s brilliant display against Chelsea in the Community Shield cracker at Wembley Stadium.

Arsenal won their first trophy of the season after beating Chelsea 4-2 on penalties.

The fans who are yet to forgive Cesc Fabregas for leaving Gunners for Chelsea, one of their London rivals booed him during sunday’s game.

And one of the biggest cheers of the afternoon was made when he was made to look very silly by Iwobi.

Iwobi made Fabregas look like he was running in treacle with his pace. Fabregas tried desperately to keep up but was left eating the Nigerian winger’s dust.

He eventually caught up – about five seconds later – and was then left flat on his face after Iwobi span him inside the box.

Here are some of the tweets:

OpanaSinceD80s @nii_bondah: Iwobi making Fabregas fall face down was gold!!!

iO kaPrincess @izzoTHEBHUBESI: Fabregas is too grown to be made to chase Iwobi around

Anthony Emeagwali‏ @johnbullemeka: Sight of Fabregas tryn to chase down Iwobiit’s like a snail chasing down a fox.

afcstuff @afcstuff: Gif: Alex Iwobi shows exceptional footwork to hold off Azpilicueta & leave Fabregas on the floor. #AFC

Ankal T @matatez: Hahahaha Fabregas chasing Iwobi is the funniest thing in football. Needs a GIF that hahaha

Tiano da Conceicao @tianocarlo: Iwobi bossed Fabregas so hard with that footwork it was like watching a snake charmer.




http://regulusnews.com/2017/08/07/twitter-massages-on-iwobi-embarrass-fabregas/

Though President Muhammadu Buhari has not officially declined to run for a second term in office, his long absence and health challenges may have prompted an early search for his successor in 2019 by the nation’s power brokers and kingmakers.

Nigeria’s political gladiators have virtually concluded that Buhari who is expected back in the country soon, all the other things being equal, may have lost interest in a second term. He has been away in London on medical vacation since May. As a result, the political terrain has been busy with consultations, meetings, alignments and realignments, more often away from public view and knowledge.

Central to all of these is the Hilltop home of former military president, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida in Minna, Niger state, which has hosted a number of such consultations and meetings. One of such is a meeting between former vice president, Atiku Abubakar and Gen. Babangida as well as an ex-National Security Adviser, General Aliyu Gusau in the second week of February at the Hilltop mansion.

Saturday Sun gathered that prior to that, Atiku had spent two nights with Babangida in search of realignments. But in the meeting with IBB and Gusau in February, the former VP who is gunning to succeed Buhari in 2019, specifically met the duo to seek their support and endorsement for the race. While a source close to Atiku hinted that the two Generals who are top on the list of Nigeria’s kingmakers agreed to support the former number two citizen, Babangida’s spokesman, Prince Kassim Afegbua told Saturday Sun that, that was not a true reflection of the outcome of the meeting.

Even if there was an endorsement of Atiku by IBB and Gusau, such suffered a bad kick from another kingmaker, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who a top politician involved in the realignment processes, quoted as saying his former deputy would never be president when he is alive. “Baba (Obasanjo) said even if he’s dead and he hears Atiku wants to be president, he will beg God to allow him go and stop it”, the APC chieftain from the same North East as Atiku stated. As a result, Obasanjo was said to have insisted at another meeting of the kingmakers in IBB’s home on May 2nd, 2017 that Nigeria’s next president must be below 70 years of age, thus technically ruling out Atiku, who will be 71 on November 25.


http://regulusnews.com/2017/08/05/2019-obasanjo-babangida-abdulsalami-gusau-shop-for-buharis-successor/

Credible sources very close to the Kaduna State Government have confirmed to LeadersNG that a cabal in the Kaduna State Government has finally succeeded in persuading and prevailing on Mallam Nasir El-Rufai to replace his deputy.

The Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Architect Barnabas Bala Bantex is said to have been critically ill of an unknown disease and has been out of the country on medical vacation in an unknown location since the past three months.

Prior to his medical vacation, Arc Bantex was said to have been sidelined from the Governance of the State by the Governor who is under a very strong influence of cabal running the affairs of the state.

Under the desperate circumstance, Arc Bantex is said to have been compelled by the cabal to opt for a hospital of their choice as opposed to the preferred hospital of the Deputy Governor.

Source close to Bala Bantex reveal that his medical condition is critical. Meanwhile, in his absence on account of ill health, sources confirmed that an arrangement has been concluded to replace him immediately.

The cabal according to LeadersNG sources are already scouting for a young, vibrant Hausa-Fulani technocrat as Deputy Governor should in an event El-Rufai decides to take up the Vice President position at the federal level. The cabal, LeadersNG gathered, do not want the event of 2009 to repeat itself, where after the appointment of Namadi Sambo as Vice President of Nigeria by Former President Goodluck Jonathan, his deputy, Patrick Yekowa, a Christian from Southern Kaduna became the governor automatically.


http://regulusnews.com/2017/07/25/elrufai-plans-to-replace-his-deputy-with-a-muslim-from-zaria-as-he-prepares-to-become-vp/

By Seama Lazarus
Last Saturday, July 22nd the Chairman of Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company Ltd, Chief Dr Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma OFR gave out a brand new Innoson IVM G5 to Mr Ikechukwu Osakwe popularly known as Osabros who prophesied to him in 1979 that he would be the first man in Africa to manufacture vehicles and sell to different African countries.
The prophecy was given at the period the then Innocent Chukwuma could not boast of a car, talk less of manufacturing one. According to Dr Chukwuma during the presentation of the car, he recalled on how Mr Ikechukwu Osakwe all the way from Kano blocked him at the front of his house early in the morning and told him he has a message for him.
Mr Osakwe went on to narrate a dream he had about him, how he saw in the said dream his vehicle manufacturing company known as CAP PLC. “He told me that CAP means Chukwuma Automobile Productions. Immediately he said that I laughed him to scorn and left him immediately.
After some years when I established the first motorcycle assembly plant, he came back again to remind me of that dream again and told me that I will still manufacture vehicles. Of a truth it was after I had established my vehicle manufacturing plant that I realized that his prophecy was real.


http://regulusnews.com/2017/07/25/innoson-rewards-man-who-prophesied-about-his-vehicle-manufacturing-in-1979/

Manchester City have announced the signing of left-back Benjamin Mendy for £49.2m on a five-year deal.

The 23-year-old France international flew to Los Angeles to undergo a medical and compete the deal on Sunday ahead of joining-up with City’s pre-season tour of the United States.

Mendy had been City’s first-choice target for a new left-back and joins fellow new full-backs Kyle Walker and Danilo through the door at the Etihad, as City take their summer spending past the £200m mark.

Mendy said: “I am very proud. This is what I wanted from the very beginning. As soon as the championship was over, I talked to my family and it was all clear in my head: I wanted to join Manchester City.

“I think I am the right person for the group. I am easily adaptable. There are some players with whom I exchanged a few emails, I knew them from some years ago.

“Regarding football, I can bring a lot of creativity in the game, I can offer different solutions, I like to take to play as full-back and provide assists for the strikers.”

Pep Guardiola has taken his summer spending to over £200m
Pep Guardiola has taken his summer spending to over £200m
Director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “Benjamin has all the qualities we are looking for in a full-back. For such a young player, he has a wealth of top-level experience”

Mendy has emerged as one of the best left-backs in Europe despite just a single season at Monaco following a £13m move from Marseille last summer, and was one of a number of Monaco players of interest to other clubs following their French Ligue 1 triumph.

City have already signed Bernardo Silva from Monaco and are also interested in their highly-coveted striker Kylian Mbappe

http://regulusnews.com/2017/07/24/manchester-city-announce-49-2m-signing-of-benjamin-mendy/

The Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar, has given details how religious leaders pushed the Goodluck Jonathan administration to change the status of Christian and Islamic subjects in school curriculum.

The two subjects, previously optional, are now core for students of respective faiths.

Mr. Abubakar spoke amid controversy that has trailed the decision, with Christian leaders demanding a reversal of the policy.

The Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, accused the government of attempting to “Islamise” the country by bringing both subjects under a new subject called Religion and National Values.

The Christian Elders Forum, a group that also includes former military generals, backed the call on Thursday.

The government denies the allegation, saying it merely made Christian Religious Knowledge and Islamic Religious Knowledge compulsory for Christian and Muslim students respectively.

Speaking Friday at a National Symposium and Lauching of 2025 Vision by Da’awah Coordination Council of Nigeria, Mr. Abubakar, who is the head of the Nigerian Muslim community, urged the council to propagate Islam to non-Muslims in a non-combative manner.

“Tell people what Islam is; tell them why they should be Muslims and what difference it could make to their lives,” he said.


http://regulusnews.com/2017/07/16/crk-irk-controversy-tell-them-why-they-should-be-muslims-sultan-of-sokoto/

Court documents filed by the US Department of Justice in Houston have revealed that Nigeria’s former oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke tried to warn Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore, her business partners against lavish spending, including splashing millions of dollars on a yacht.

“If you want to hire a yacht, you lease it for two weeks or whatever. You don’t go and sink funds into it at this time when Nigerian oil and gas sector is under all kinds of watch,” she said to Aluko in a recorded conversation.

But her warning was not heeded as Aluko went on to buy Galactica Star, a luxury yacht, for $80million.


Aluko’s Galactica Star yacht: costs $80m
The yacht, a stupendous luxury on water, was once rented by Jay Z and his wife, Beyonce for close to a million dollars during a holiday last year. It also once hosted Beyonce’s 32nd birthday in 2013.

Both Aluko and Omokore are alleged to have paid bribes between 2011 and 2015 to Diezani who ensured that shell companies owned by the businessmen received billion-dollar contracts to sell Nigeria’s crude oil.

The oil swap contracts were a controversial barter arrangement which saw Nigeria use middlemen to sell crude oil in exchange for refined products. With local refineries under-performing, oil swap deals were used to shore up local demand for petroleum products.

Between 2010 and 2014, under Diezani’s watch, Nigeria was estimated to have channeled over 352 million barrels of oil worth a total of $35 billion into oil swap deals.

But with the contracts mostly opaque, Nigeria reportedly lost more than $900 million in crude oil swap deals between 2009 and 2012.

The deals came under severe scrutiny with former Central Bank Governor now Emir Muhammadu Sanusi describing them “not properly structured, monitored and audited.”

President Buhari cancelled the oil swap arrangement in November 2015, seven months after taking office.

The US Justice Department (DOJ) lawsuit has provided more insight into the scale of theft of Nigeria’s oil riches under Diezani Alison-Madueke’s watch.

The civil lawsuit, brought by DOJ’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative, is seeking to recover $144 million in assets, including a $50 million luxury condo apartment in New York and the $80 million yacht.

Prosecutors say both assets were proceeds from bribes paid by two Nigerian businessmen for lucrative Nigerian oil contracts. The lawsuit seeks the forfeiture of both assets.

Prosecutors claim that the businessmen, Kolawole Aluko and Olajide Omokore, laundered money through the US by purchasing lavish assets.

The $50 million New York condo is at One57, located opposite Carnegie Hall in midtown Manhattan. The building currently holds the record for the most-expensive residential sale in New York following a $100.5 million apartment purchase in 2014.

Aluko’s $50 million condo is the 8th most expensive in the building, but following a loan default, his mortgage lenders are set to auction the apartment on July 19.

Aluko is also said to have purchased Galactica Star, a $80 million 65-meter yacht which hosted Beyonce’s 32nd birthday bash in 2013.

Aluko’s yacht and penthouse are not the only items under scrutiny by the DOJ.

The government also alleges that Aluko, Omokore and others funded a lavish lifestyle for Alison-Madueke.

According to the allegations, they conspired to purchase millions of dollars in real estate in and around London for Alison-Madueke and her family members, then renovated and furnished these homes with millions of dollars in furniture, artwork and other luxury items purchased at two Houston-area furniture stores at Alison-Madueke’s direction.

According to Financial Times, the two are accused of buying a total of four residential properties in and around London worth 11.45 million, and furnishing them with furniture, artwork and other luxury items.

“In one day in May 2012, Mr. Aluko was said to have wired $461,500 and $262,091 to two furniture stores in Houston from a Swiss bank account, on behalf of Mrs. Alison-Madueke, the civic complaint filed in the court claimed.

In return, the government alleges Alison-Madueke used her influence to direct a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to award Strategic Alliance Agreements (SAAs) to two shell companies created by Aluko and Omokore: Atlantic Energy Drilling Concepts Nigeria Ltd. and Atlantic Energy Brass Development Ltd. (the Atlantic Companies).

Under the SAAs, the Atlantic Companies were required to finance the exploration and production operations of eight on-shore oil and gas blocks. In return for financing these operations, the companies expected to receive a portion of the oil and gas produced.

However, according to the complaint, the Atlantic Companies provided only a fraction of the agreed upon financing or, in some instances, failed entirely to provide it.

The companies also failed to meet other obligations under the SAAs, including the payment of $120 million entry fee.

Nevertheless, according to the allegations, the companies were permitted to lift and sell more than $1.5 billion worth of Nigerian crude oil.

The government contends the Atlantic Companies then used a series of shell companies and intermediaries to launder a portion of the total proceeds of these arrangements into and through the U.S.

NAN


http://regulusnews.com/2017/07/15/diezani-warned-aluko-about-buying-80m-galactica-star/

The unity of Nigeria as a nation is an issue that must be debated in order to address lingering echoes of marginalisation, Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka said on Friday.

“The claim that the unity of Nigeria is non-negotiable is a false statement,” Mr. Soyinka said. “The right of the people to determine their future is what is non-negotiable.”

The Nobel laureate’s comments came when he joined Governor Seriake Dickson to commission a new high school in Kaiama, Bayelsa State.

The Ijaw National Academy, which has been running for four months, accommodates up to 1,000 students at the junior and senior secondary levels.

After a brief exchange with the students about his exploits as a renowned writer, Mr. Soyinka took a frontal aim at those who maintain that Nigeria must remain as currently constituted and her unity cannot be negotiated.

“Don’t tell me that Nigeria, as it is, is non-negotiable,” Mr. Soyinka said. “To me, that’s a fallacy.”

Some politicians and top government officials have recently asserted that Nigeria’s structure is not defective contrary to what advocates of restructuring hold.

Two weeks ago, Acting President Yemi Osinbajo repeated the administration’s position on Nigeria as an entity.

“Our unity is not negotiable. We should make sure that we remain united in order to enjoy the resources God has blessed Nigeria with. So many nations envy what we have as a nation,” Mr. Osinbajo said while receiving Muslim leaders in the State House June 25.

But Mr. Soyinka further disagreed with Mr. Osinbajo and other proponents of the status quo.

“Negotiation involves ensuring that there’s no marginalisation. Negotiation involves ensuring that the major components of the country are not feeding on the centre,” Mr. Soyinka said.

The professor said he believes in the unity of Nigeria, but warned those against restructuring to stop being ‘dogmatic and dictatorial’ in expressing their position.



http://regulusnews.com/2017/07/14/2977/

Arsène Wenger met Kylian Mbappé . The family of the French prodigy and the coach of Arsenal were seen on June 14, in Paris, towards the district of Saint-Germain-des-Pres, the day after France-England. The interview lasted more than three hours.


The coach of the Gunners put the package to explain to the young Monegasque how an experience with the club in London would be the best of things. He returned several times to the career of Thierry Henry , to convince him of the soundness of his reasoning. In sum, at the Emirates Stadium, Kylian Mbappé would logically be the new leader of attack and could fit in the footsteps of his illustrious former.





Arsenal does not admit defeated, and patient. Despite the arrival of Lacazette , the coach of the Gunners, who had gone to Australia for a pre-season training session, has not yet abandoned the idea of ​​recruiting the Frenchman. And if a shooting window appears before the end of the mercato, he will seize it, especially since the Gunners possess the financial power to carry out the operation.



Third courtier, the PSG pushes like never before to succeed the coup of this summer … Nasser Al-Khelaifi , the president of the Parisian club, also met the entourage, and puts all its weight in the battle for the young star.



http://regulusnews.com/2017/07/14/arsene-wenger-woos-mbappe-to-emirates-stadium/

(CNN)Tupac Shakur lived much of his life in the limelight, but a letter that has surfaced from his past seems to offer rare insight into one of the late rapper’s relationships.
In a note to Madonna, reportedly written by Shakur while he was serving time in prison in 1995, he acknowledges ending their romantic relationship because of her race.
“For you to be seen with a black man wouldn’t in any way jeopardize your career, if anything it would make you seem that much more open and exciting,” Tupac wrote. “But for me at least in my previous perception I felt due to my ‘image’ that I would be letting down half of the people who made me what I thought I was.”
Gotta Have Rock and Roll is auctioning the letter later this month.
While CNN has not independently confirmed the letter’s authenticity, the auction site allowed TMZ to photograph the note and publish excerpts.
Shakur apologized to Madonna in the letter, adding “I never meant to hurt you.”
Madonna has not commented publicly about Shakur’s alleged remarks, but spoke about her relationship with him in a 2015 interview with Howard Stern.
The singer said Shakur was partly responsible for her expletive-laden appearance on “The Late Show” in 1994.
“He got me all riled up about life in general, so when I went on the show I was feeling very gangster,” she said.
Shakur was shot and killed in 1996.
Last month, Madonna posted a throwback photo of herself with Shakur in honor of what would have been his birthday.
Image result for tupac and madonna
“Happy Birthday Tupac,” she wrote in the caption. “Not sure what my dumb a** facial expression is all about. Maybe we were at the circus.”


http://regulusnews.com/2017/07/07/race-played-major-role-in-tupac-and-madonna-break-up/

Guys get ready to apply, no miss this one

Acting President Yemi Osinbajo has directed that the online portal of the government’s job initiative, N-Power, be reopened June to allow more unemployed Nigerians apply, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said.

Mrs. Ahmed advised youth to apply for the Federal Government’s National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP).

She told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Thursday that the government would scale up the N-SIP to accommodate more beneficiaries.

She said Mr. Osinbajo had directed that the online portal should be reopened on .

http://regulusnews.com/2017/06/01/osinbajo-orders-n-power-job-portal-opened/

Leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu who recently regained his freedom paid a visit to former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode at his Abuja residence today.


Read More: http://regulusnewsonline.com/2017/05/01/photos-nnamdu-kanu-visits-fani-kayode-in-abuja/

See Photos....

greenermodels:
doesn't make sense, ph is the new ipob headquarters, he would pull massive crowds there.

He does not neet the crowd now...that bail condition was given as a trap. If he brakes it, you will see what Security forces will do...thats what i think